Essential oils for hair: the natural treatment taking salons by storm

For years, chemical-heavy hair treatments have ruled the salon industry. Big brands dictated the standards, sidelining natural solutions and glorifying synthetic formulas. But times are changing, clients are more informed, more demanding, and no longer willing to accept treatments that don’t truly suit them.

Yet many hairdressers remain stuck in outdated methods, wondering why the industry is struggling. If clients are turning away from salons, it’s not a coincidence, they’re simply not finding what they’re looking for anymore.
So, how do we turn things around? How do we make clients want to come back? The answer exists, though many are still hesitant to embrace it. After years of relying solely on chemical products, some fear a natural approach might mean sacrificing results.

And yet… there is an alternative that combines performance, well-being, and modern expectations. A natural solution that transforms the salon experience and brings deeper meaning back to the profession. That solution? Essential oils for hair, powerful, sensory-rich elixirs that might just be the secret behind the salons that are thriving.

1. What Are Essential Oils for Hair?

Essential oils for hair are potent plant extracts derived from the flowers, leaves, or bark of aromatic plants. Highly concentrated in active compounds, they hold the power of nature in just a few drops. Unlike synthetic treatments that coat the hair and mask issues, essential oils work deeper, treating both the scalp and hair fiber at the root of the problem.

Far from being a passing trend, essential oils and hair care have always gone hand in hand, soothing, stimulating, strengthening… each plant offers its own specific benefits. In the salon, they’ve become a must-have professional tool for delivering natural, effective, and targeted treatments.

2. Why are they so effective?

More and more hairdressers are turning to essential oils for hair, and for good reason: they deliver impressive results. While many chemical products simply mask issues, essential oils address the root cause directly.

Tea tree, for example, purifies and balances oily scalps. Lavender soothes irritation. Rosemary stimulates hair growth. Each essential oil serves a specific purpose. Used alone or in synergy, they become powerful allies in restoring the hair’s natural vitality, shine, and strength.

Because they act at the source, essential oils offer real, lasting results, while respecting the hair and the scalp’s natural sensitivity. That’s what makes them so effective: long-term benefits without compromise.

3. Customized hair care

Every client has unique needs. That’s why essential oils make it easy to create tailored treatments adapted to each individual. Dandruff, dry hair, hair loss, excess oil… there’s always an essential oil that can target the specific issue.

This ability to offer highly personalized care is a real asset for your salon. It changes everything. Clients don’t just come in for a color service or a haircut anymore, they come for your expert care. Something that, let’s be honest, has faded over time. Many clients now turn to the internet or influencers for hair advice. With targeted, plant-based treatments, you reclaim your role as a true haircare expert.

Hairdressers who work with Hairborist essential oils often say it themselves: people come to their salons specifically because they know they’ll receive a personalized diagnosis and a truly adapted solution.

4. Treatments That Respect Health and the Environment

Beyond their effectiveness, natural treatments based on essential oils are also safe for health and kind to the environment. No suffocating silicones, no harsh chemicals, just the raw power of plants.

Clients no longer question what’s in the formula or worry about potential health risks. You also position your salon within the growing movement toward sustainability and eco-consciousness. More than a trend, it’s becoming a true necessity.

Choosing haircare with essential oils means offering your clients real results while meeting today’s key expectations: natural, healthy, and eco-friendly beauty.

5. A Unique Sensory and Emotional Experience

Essential oils in hair care go far beyond effectiveness, they transform the entire salon experience. How? By creating a sense of emotional well-being and giving your clients a truly sensory moment.

When used in treatments, essential oils release their natural fragrances, enveloping the client and influencing their mood. Lavender, for example, is known to calm stress. But it’s not alone, every essential oil used for hair has a positive emotional effect. Some relax and soothe, others energize and uplift.The result? Clients leave your salon with beautiful hair and a boosted mindset.

Adding essential oils during a treatment means offering a complete moment of well-being, a pause that transforms a simple appointment into a genuine ritual. It’s easy to implement, yet this small gesture has a big impact on the overall experience and makes clients want to come back. Salon care regains its full meaning: visible results paired with a moment to feel better, all thanks to just a few drops of essential oil for hair. Magical, isn’t it?

6. How to Integrate Essential Oils for Hair Into Your Salon

Like all cosmetics, essential oils are subject to strict regulations. As a professional, you cannot create your own homemade blends and apply them to clients’ hair. Precise testing, dosage, and toxicological reports are required. But with Hairborist, you don’t need to worry about that.

With over 30 years of expertise in organic hair care and a strong focus on aromatherapy, we’ve developed a complete treatment ritual that harnesses the benefits of essential oils, fully compliant with cosmetic regulations. This allows you to offer your clients essential oil hair treatments safely, easily, and professionally. With Hairborist, essential oils are applied through a pre-shampoo oil bath: an innovative, intense, and natural treatment that will surprise—and delight—your clients. Rarely seen in salons, yet hugely popular with those who try it!

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Choose the Oil Bath Base

Two options are available, both are already restorative and nourishing on their own:

  • Renovator: the most intense option, ideal for porous, dry, or damaged hair.

  • Repair: lighter, suitable for all hair types, even fine or oily hair.

Step 2: Add the Synergy of Essential Oils (Aromactives)

Depending on your client’s needs or preferences, choose from 12 aromactives, which can also be combined:

Well-being Aromactives

  • Zen: relieves stress and promotes serenity

  • Jouvence: eases symptoms related to hormonal changes (menopause, PMS, etc.)

Scalp & Hair Concerns

  • Dermoactif: calms sensitive or irritated scalps

  • Squamactif: targets dandruff and flakiness

  • Sebumactif: regulates sebum production for oily hair

  • Génétic: reduces hair loss and stimulates growth

  • Kéractif: hydrates and repairs dry or damaged hair

  • Aromalice: fights off unwanted scalp visitors

Color Enhancers

  • Nacre: a “natural purple shampoo” effect for blond hair

  • Cuivre: enhances and intensifies copper tones

  • Écarlate: intensifies red tones

  • Ébène: enhances dark shades

Introducing essential oils into your salon isn’t just about adding a treatment, it’s about creating a truly unique experience: effective, natural, and personalized. Thanks to Hairborist, you can enhance your service offering with ease, while standing out from the crowd with an exclusive ritual that not only builds loyalty but also sparks curiosity.

Share this article

Similar articles